Lost and Found
by Natto'n'aliens
Summary: Natsu wants to go on a new job with Lucy, but she's so tired from the past missions she just wants to sleep... Why won't he tell her about the mission, anyway? And why is he blushing? And what does it have to do with a couple contest and a dark guild? In short, what's going on?
1. Let's go on a new mission!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

_Enjoy ^^ don't forget to review hehe_

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**Chapter 1: Let's go on a new mission!**

"Aaaaah," Lucy sighed in contentment as she put down her orange juice on the table, "it feels good to relax sometimes!"

"It's true that you've been on a lot of missions lately, I was beginning to miss you," Levy replied, smiling. "By the way, I don't see Natsu. Do you know were he went?"

Lucy's blissful expression faded instantly at the mention of her partner and best friend. A sad look, mixed with anger and a lot of other dark feelings, crossed her features as she answered: "I don't really know... He came in the morning to go to yet another mission, but I was so tired I told him to just go with Happy... He didn't even want to tell me where the mission was!" she added, like she needed to find an excuse for not going with him.

"Don't worry, Lucy, I'm sure they'll both be fine and come back soon", Levy said, obviously trying to cheer her friend up. Lucy put on a fake smile and greeted her fellow members good bye, feeling more and more guilty and depressed for not accompanying her friends on that mission. She wandered in town all day, thinking.

She knew that the dragon slayer could protect himself from barely anything, but she had had a bad feeling about that new mission from the start.

_**-flashback- In the morning**_

Lucy was tasting the long lost joy of sleeping in, her body wrapped in the blankets, a small smile on her face... when Natsu entered her room (of course... by the window), shouting "Let's go on a new mission!", followed by an excited Happy and his trade mark "Aye sir!". The poor girl almost had a heart attack, as being woken up by Natsu this way wasn't the most...delicate thing she would have imagined.

She just stayed in her bed groaning and wrapping herself even more in the blanket, her heart still on the verge of collapsing. Noticing that she wasn't going to move on her own, Natsu pouted and gestured to Happy to be silent as he grabbed the blanket slowly, counted to 3, and pulled the cover to him. This time, Lucy lost completely her temper and threw her pillow at her best friend, and glared at him and Happy (who was on the floor laughing), now fully awake.

When he smiled at her, she felt all anger and annoyance leave her body as her heart raced impossibly fast and she felt herself blush. God, the loud dragon slayer would most probably cause her to have heart problems in the near future, she thought, her heart beating faster and faster.

She returned his smile, her good mood recovered. She didn't see him flinch when she did, and just turned her head to the now open window, closing her eyes to enjoy the summer wind on her face.

"Want to go on on a mission?" Natsu asked excitedly, shoving a worn out paper before her face. She opened her eyes slowly, not so enthusiastic at the thought of another adventure, still feeling tired from their past missions.

"I don't know, Natsu, I'm still so tired... Last time I used almost all my magic to beat those bandits, and I'd like to be fully recovered to go on another mission." Lucy smiled apologetically at her partner, failing to ignore the disappointed look she saw when she looked up at him. "What is this new mission anyway," she added, taking the paper from his hand and unfolding it slowly. She couldn't even read a word. Natsu rushed to her and took the mission request from her with an awkward expression, like she was about to open his secret diary.

Lucy glanced up at his partner, thinking of how weird he was today.

"Why do you want me to go with you if you won't even let me read the request?" she asked, confusion breaking through in her voice, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"I... Just trust me on this one," he said, avoiding her scrutinizing gaze and... _blushing_? Seriously what was going on?

"Not today, Natsu, sorry, I just want to rest. Just go with Happy, since he must already know about the mission anyway," she told him, more and more pissed at his secretive behavior. He never hid things from her, and now he wanted her to go on a mission without even knowing where it was or _what _she would have to do! Plus she didn't have a good feeling about it...

He tried to convince her to go with him, but she stubbornly laid on her bed, eyes closed, pouting. He didn't resign easily, but when he got no answer after several attempts to talk to his friend, he left Lucy's apartment, disappointed, understanding her a bit. But damn, he had a good reason for not showing her the request! Couldn't she trust him a little bit?

Lucy drifted off to sleep, still highly pissed by her friend's behavior just now.

_**-end flashback-**_

Lucy found herself in front of her apartment before her mind could register. She was so confused right now!She entered her bedroom and sat on her bed, her head filled with memories from this morning.

"Aaaah!" She suddenly cried in frustration, "I can't hold it any longer!" With that, she hurriedly put on her battle clothes and ran to the guild to get information about Natsu's mission and see if she could catch up with him and Happy before they were too far from Magnolia.


	2. Happy's way of seeing things

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

_Thank you every one for your kind reviews! ^-^ Please continue telling me what you think about the new chapters!_

_Then, on with the story =)_

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**Chapter 2: Happy's way of seeing things**

Happy opened his eyes as the train was slowing down. They were arriving at Buttercup! He turned his head to his companion, prepared to announce him the good news. A small giggle escaped his lips when he saw what was left of the dragon slayer. He looked like he was about to die, as always when he was in the vicinity of a train. Drool running down his chin, eyelids half-closed, arms shivering madly.

_His skin is so green_, Happy noticed, _he really looks like a plant!_ He laughed a bit at this thought, but then he realized his friend had completely stopped moving. Suddenly aware of the seriousness of the situation, the blue flying cat carried his sick friend to the door of the wagon and to the outside world. He stared intently at Natsu, shouting: "Natsu! Put yourself together! Don't turn into a plant! Pleeeeeaaase!" He laid him down and sat next to him, worried. After a moment of utter anxiety, the exceed sighed in relief: Natsu was going to remain Natsu after all!

"What plant?" his greenish companion asked weakly. Happy smiled at him and burst out laughing at his crazy idea.

"Let's go?" Happy said, finally controlling his laughter.

"By foot this time!" Natsu cried while getting up. Hell was he ever going to ride any means of transport again!

"Aye!" With that said, the two Fairy Tail members got on the road to the small village of Talinvene, the place where their job request came from.

. . .

"Natsu, go in before me, I... I just remembered something I have to do! I'll be right back!"

"Happy, wait!" But the blue cat was already far. _I'm all on my own now_, the fire dragon slayer thought. He looked around him. Everything seemed different. Duller. _When have I been alone for the last time?_ He tried hard to remember. But in his memories, we was never alone. In his memories he was living with Igneel, laughing and fighting with Happy, Lisanna, Gray, Erza, Mira, Cana, Elfmann... In his memories, he was with

_Lucy. _

He realized how much he missed his partner, even though he had seen her a few hours ago.

_Okay, it's no time to be thinking about Lucy! I have to do this job, or else I won't be able to come back home! _He recovered quickly from his brief depression, and roared, half smiling:

"I'm all fired up!"

He entered the city hall with as much self-confidence as he could muster. The room he came in resembled a traveling agency, with beach posters all over the walls, flyers on every single counter, and most of all a big white placard reading "welcome to Talinvene!" in numerous languages Natsu couldn't recognize. He recalled the crowd of people in the streets. _So the village is really a touristic attraction. It's no big surprise... I can smell the salty scent of the ocean from here._

"I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, I'm here for the mission you posted in my guild!" the dragon slayer claimed proudly, showing his mark to the people in the room. After a moment, an old-looking woman showed up before him.

"Come here, boy, the mayor's willing to talk to you," she said. She kept on glancing at Natsu and shaking her head, muttering something like "can't they even read a job request properly? God, kids these days...". He followed her to the second and last floor of the building, and to a wooden door. She knocked and entered without further hesitation.

It was a little tidy room. A middle-aged man, probably the mayor, sat at a big desk. He lifted his head from his work when he heard the woman and Natsu entering, and gave a questioning look to them. Before the fire dragon slayer could say a word, the old woman declared coldly:

"This boy tells he wants to fulfill the job request."

"Alone?" the mayor turned to Natsu, and gazed at him like he was a complete idiot. Suddenly, realization hit him.

_Oh no! I was so down Lucy didn't want to come along I didn't pay attention to the request at all! _He remembered now: it was supposed to be a couple work, he wouldn't be able to do it on his own, or even with Happy! Lucy had to be with him for this! After a long silence, he said lamely:

"Er... Yeah, I'm alone. Was it that important to be with a partner to do the job?"

The woman next to him shook her head one more time. The mayor frowned and replied angrily:

"What's with that moron? Of course we need a couple!" And he went on and on about how guilds were deteriorating and how you couldn't entrust them with proper missions any more.

Trying his best to keep his calm, Natsu cut the man short:

"My partner..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

The door flew open at that very moment, papers were thrown in every direction, and a very familiar voice claimed:

"...Is here!"

"Happy?" Natsu turned round, glad he was back.

"You mean Happynette, darling!" the blue cat answered with a suggestive wink toward his dragon slayer friend.

At the sight of the exceed, said dragon slayer had to stop breathing in order not to burst out laughing. Indeed, Happy was wearing a long blue dress (too long for him) and gross make up that hid his face partially. Happy had thought about the request before him and tried to disguise as a woman! Unsuccessfully, but still!

Natsu glanced at the woman and the mayor. They were flabbergasted. The woman's skin had turned white while the mayor didn't show any emotion. It was bad.

"Run!" he cried to Happy, before correcting: "I mean, fly!"

The two buddies rushed to the window (_AN: I know... they have the weird habit to use windows as doors..._) and jumped, landing in the street before the mayor could react. They kept on running (and flying) for a while, laughing their heart out. They could still hear the fury speech Tal's mayor addressed to them: something like "Don't ever come here again!" mixed with a bunch of insanities...

_What are we going to do?_ Natsu and Happy wondered at the same time. _Now we can't even fulfill the mission..._

While Natsu was starting to feel down again, thinking about how much he needed Lucy right now, Happy exclaimed:

"Aye! I have an idea!"

The dragon slayer turned to look at him, a smile on his face.

"I'm not sure I want to see it. I mean, look at you, _Happynette_!" and he began laughing again, even louder than before.

Crossing his arms, Happy pouted a little, muttering: "I was just trying to help... Anyway," he continued, "I thought we could ask..."

"Hey, you! Yes the blue flying cat wearing _my_ dress!" An angry voice called at that moment.

"Oh, just at the right time! I was wondering if you could help us a little bit more..." the exceed was cut short as the young woman, obviously the owner of the dress, grabbed him, yelling: "What the hell! Give me my dress back IMMEDIATELY, you WEIRDO!" And with that, she pulled the dress off Happy and vanished noisily, after sending the poor cat flying to the ground.

"Happy, you okay?" Natsu mouthed, stunned.

"I... I think she's not willing to help after all..."

"You can say that... What was your idea again?"

"Well, I was thinking of asking someone to be your partner for the mission, since I'm off the list..."

There was a long silence, before a bright red Natsu registered what his friend had just said and replied in a loud voice: "Wha-what? No way! I don't want anyone to be my partner on this except Lucy!"

"So what are we gonna do?" the cat whined.

"I dunno..." Natsu admitted, feeling beaten.

. . .

_**At the Fairy Tail guild...**_

"Miraaaaaaaa!" A young stellar mage yelled through the entire building, startling everyone. "Mira, tell me where Natsu and Happy went this morning!" Lucy threw her fists to the counter and stared intently at the barmaid, waiting for her response. Mirajane sweat dropped a little at the blonde's fervency and smiled a gentle smile at her. _I knew Lucy would change her mind... Natsu and her would make such a cute couple!_

"They went to Talinvene, it's a small village on the seasi..."

"Okay thank you so much! Well, I'm off!" Lucy didn't wait for her friend to finish her sentence and ran to the station, where she bought a ticket heading to the city of Buttercup she knew was near Talinvene.

_I don't understand Natsu at all! Why didn't tell me about the job? If he had said we had to go to Tal, I would have jumped to my feet to follow him! It's the best sea resort in the country! And soon the Best Couple of the Year Contest will take place there!_ Lucy felt her excitement rise fast as she kept thinking.

She got in the train and found a sit. It was still the afternoon, she would arrive at Buttercup before nightfall.

"Wait for me, Natsu! I'm coming!"

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_I didn't want to tell about the mission just yet, you'll probably have more explanation in the next chapter... I tried to let a few clues in this one though... ^^_

_Please don't forget to review this time as well!_


	3. Goodbye sanity, hi craziness!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. _

_Hey guys! =) Ready for a new chapter? Hope you didn't forget about the story... XD sorry for the lengthy wait, I thought about the plot for a loooong time before beginning writing... Anyway, hope you like it! ^o^_

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**Chapter 3: Goodbye sanity, hi craziness!**

Lucy was sitting in the wagon, shooting impatient looks at the landscape, searching for the sight of the sea. The sea approaching would mean the arrival at Talinvene! But said landscape remained desperately green, and she cursed inwardly at her helplessness. She truly couldn't wait to see her dragon slayer friend. He occupied her every thoughts at the moment. Though, the Fairy Tail mage would gladly kick Natsu out of her mind, and think of something else. Anything else in fact. For each time his smiling face popped in her head, her heart skipped a beat and she felt her cheeks redden uncontrollably; for each time the memory of his disappointed back jumping off her window made its sneaky way to her brain, she felt like she was being punched in the face, as her whole body filled with anger, guilt, frustration...

"**...my lollipop?**" the voice uttered through the loud-speaker of the train, (hopefully) interrupting her flustered thoughts.

"Natsu?" Lucy shouted at the speaker, startled. No mistaking, it was _Natsu_'s voice! Why the hell would he be in this train? He was most probably already at Talinvene with Happy, fulfilling the mission they had picked...

"**Have you seen it, ma'am?**" Natsu repeated. Feeling very dumb, the celestial mage couldn't help but yell:

"Natsu! Where are you?" She felt the urge to stride up and down the train in search of her nakama. She didn't have to: suddenly, the pink-haired Salamander was standing in the wagon, at the door.

But this Natsu was different, she sensed. And he didn't seem to be sick at all! They were on a mean of transportation and Natsu wasn't sick! Something was off, definitely... Suspicious, Lucy got up and walked towards him. She grabbed one of her keys, prepared to strike in case it was a trap. The dragon slayer didn't give the slightest reaction at seeing her. Instead, he looked right in her eyes and declared:

"**Mom! I've lost my lollipop!**" And he started crying loudly.

"What lollipop? And... _Mom_?" her friend asked him, dumbfounded by the whole situation. Though she couldn't help but relax at his childish behavior. _So very Natsu..._

"Natsu, what's going o...?" Her question was cut off when the train abruptly stopped, sending her flying in the seats and on the other customers. Weird enough, they didn't seem too offended by her falling on them.

The blonde mage closed her eyes for a second, trying hard not to freak out. When she opened them, the train had disappeared, replaced by the most colorful room she had ever seen: it was round, with a pink table in the middle and a tiny door at her left. Lucy looked down and saw that her clothes had changed into an old style blue dress with a white blouse beneath it. She wondered what the hell was happening to her.

_Strange... that odd scenery makes me think of a book I've read... But... which one? I can't remember..._

That's when she saw Happy standing behind the table, a pair of rabbit ears on his head and a pocket-watch in his little paw. He was whispering something like "_**Late... late... late... they're late!**_" while watching frantically around him. She grinned at the sight of her friend in such a disguise.

_Okay, I get it now! It's _Alice in Wonderland_! _The celestial mage guessed.

_Maybe I can get some answers from Happy the rabbit... _She was really at a loss for any _rational _explanations as to what was going on, except for the not so reassuring _I'm-dead-and-I-don't-know-it_ and _I've-totally-gone-mad_ ones.

"Happy! Do you know wha...?"

All of a sudden, everything in the room started to shake, and screams were heard. Some of fear, some of rage. A loud blast boomed, and pieces of the roof fell on the two Fairy Tail members. Remaining clueless but reacting fast, Lucy grabbed a struggling Happy and managed to throw him out of the room through the door, pissed at his lack of cooperation.

"I'm saving you, you stupid cat-rabbit!" She yelled, the deafening noise of the explosions covering her angry voice.

Then she approached the table, remembering the plot of _Alice in Wonderland_. She swiftly took the bottle laying on the table and drank its content, wincing at the bitter taste. And she waited, wisely hidden under the pink table to avoid the hits from the collapsing roof. She was beginning to think she had mistaken the story for another one when suddenly everything seemed to grow_ bigger_. Including the _concrete bits_ still falling all over her.

She ran to the door at full speed, jumping into it to avoid a vicious patch of wall that had decided to crumble right when she was beneath it.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" was all she managed to utter, scared out of her wits.

Lucy blinked to accustom to the bright sunlight of the outside and landed harshly on a wooden ground. She got up slowly, cursing under her breath, and looked around her. She was now standing on a stage in front of hundreds of people she had never seen. Next to her stood a desk with a mic. She decided it was time to act. If she asked a whole crowd at the same time, maybe at least someone would be as kind as to answer her questions!

Taking the mic with her two shaking hands, she yelled:

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" The sentence resonated around the place several times, and then a heavy silence settled. The celestial mage felt her cheeks redden, not comfortable with the current atmosphere and the numerous eyes fixed on her. After a moment of utter embarrassment, a glittering thing caught her eyes. It looked like... an armor? And that crimson mane, and those dark eyes... _No way, Erza!_

The Fairy Tail mage seemed to float in the air above the other people. She stopped in midair, faced a flabbergasted Lucy and whispered with a tiny voice that contrasted with her usual determined tone:

"_**Miss, wake up... We're being attacked, please, we need to go outside the train...**_"

A sword appeared beside her. Looking completely furious, the crimson haired mage threw it right at her blond fellow. Fellow who had a heart-attack when she realized the deathly weapon was directed at _her_.

.

"WHA...! Erzaaaa!" She screamed, getting up hurriedly, her eyes shooting wide open. _Wait, getting up?_

The stellar mage blinked, dazed as she watched the scene that was playing in front of her. She forced herself to relax a little bit, registering the information as it came. First, she was still in the wagon, somehow; second, Erza and her evil sword had all disappeared! An unconscious sigh of relief escaped her still quivering lips.

Though, she noticed something off about the whole setting, and frowned deeply when she managed to put a word on it: the train wasn't on the railways anymore! She glanced outside the window: a green meadow extended far beyond the horizon, the railway crossing it and making her feel like she was laughed at. And why was it so _luminous_ in here? She raised her head, only to see that there was no roof anymore! She sensed she wasn't going to see Natsu before long...

She heard the panicked cries of a group of people, and finally understood the situation: bandits were attacking the train! And they were many, at what Lucy saw. They ran in and out of the mean of transport, shouting at the scared customers to get out, some of them casting spells to make another part of the already beaten wagon collapse. So they used magic, too... The Fairy Tail mage couldn't stop feeling relieved despite everything: she would rather face a herd of bloodthirsty brigands on her own than an angry, life threatening Erza! _Well, after giving it some thought, I think the choice of any member of Fairy Tail would tend for the first option..._

"Hum..." a shy voice tried to get her attention. Lucy turned her head towards its source. A young woman was sitting next to her, her big green orbs looking at her in concern. She gave off an impression of grace and elegance, and her long black hair was stainless regardless of the chaos of the place. She was what one would call a proper Lady. "Miss, I'm sorry I woke you up, but I thought maybe you would like to know what is happening..."

"Wake me up?" Suddenly realization hit her. _I was dreaming all this while! I didn't really meet a childish Natsu searching for his lollipop, nor did I meet Happy the rabbit in that strange room! _After a while, she thought, more and more relieved: _And Erza didn't really try to kill me with one of her swords!_ She started smiling brightly, oblivious of the stare the young Lady sent her.

A pair of bandits in matching outfits approached the two young women and barked for them to get out of the train. Lucy felt really groggy after her agitated dream, so she just let the two men force her out, overhearing their heated conversation. One of them bawled his companion out for he was late; the other retorted that he wasn't waiting in the good wagon in the first place, and they started bickering with each other. They really looked like each other: same short dark hair, same blue gaze, same slim shoulders, same way of speaking... Even the same clothes! Maybe they were brothers or something?, she wondered, before remembering they were the bad guys, and that it was time for a little beating!

When they made their way to where the other passengers sat, the blond mage went into action: like she was going to let herself be tied up kindly! She was a proud Fairy Tail member, for God's sake! She let all her anger towards the damn bandits take her over and stepped between them and the hostages, shouting:

"What do you think you're doing to the passengers of the train, you filthy bastards!" With that said she stretched out her arms in a protective gesture. She tried something novel: she remembered the face of Edo-Lucy when she was angry at Edo-Natsu, let it fill her mind. O_kay, now time for practice! Furrow your eyebrows, throw daggers with your eyes, let your mouth fall a little to the sides, feel your battle aura flare dangerously... Focus..._

There! The expected reaction! Every one (including the prisoners...) shivered and hurried away from her, except for the black haired woman, still standing right next to her. The mage stepped towards the bandits, delighted: she loved to know she had that kind of power of persuasion within her!

"Aye sir! Ready for some action?" She grinned in a devilish fashion that made most of the bandits back off, leaving the two bravest ones to the sadistic hands of the celestial mage. Lucy noticed it was the bickering brothers from before. Her smile widened. _Now, now, asking for a payback, my dears?_

The mage grabbed her whip swiftly, dashing towards her opponents, never parting with her confident smile. In one jump she was above them ready to strike... Too late.

Lucy landed on her feet, searching for the brothers with her eyes. She spotted them after a short while: they had avoided her hit and were now running towards the tied up prisoners. _No_, she realized with dread, _they are aiming at the girl who woke me up!_

"Cowards!" the Fairy Tail celestial mage shouted at them when they caught the girl, rather harshly. They were using such a fine young woman as their _shield_! They were disgusting!

_Well, not for so long, _Lucy decided, cracking her whip,_ soon they'll just be dead, or very close to it._

The two brothers exchanged a pleased and vicious look. They began laughing. The sight was just revolting.

"This girl sure is scary, right Theo? She even managed to scratch my cheek with her whip!" one of them told through his laughter, wiping the blood out of his hurt face with his sleeve.

"Doris, don't make her scarier than she already is!" the other responded, having great fun teasing the celestial mage.

"What are we risking? See, she's not moved one bit since we got hold of her pretty friend!" With that, he started hitting the black haired girl, who was too frail to even block the punches. The pleasure of discovering her Edo side let place to fury as she saw the innocent girl suffer and cry in their claws. Without thinking, she rushed forward, her whip directed at them. Surely she wouldn't miss her target this time!

But, just before reaching the bandits, she felt a cold wave wash over her body. In a few seconds, she was shivering madly in front of the two smirking brothers and the beaten Lady. She fell to the floor, her legs now too weak to even carry her weight.

"Maybe you'd like to know what's happening to you, girl," one of the men said, entertained with his work. "It's simple. My magic power consists in controlling _water_. Making in hot, cold, _twist..._" As he insisted on the last word, Lucy felt like her whole body was trying to scatter in all directions at once, and it was very, _very _painful. She let out a scream, a long and heart-crushing one.

"And as you probably know it, the human body consists of 70 percents of water..."

At this point, Lucy tried to get up, but her vision was beginning to get blurry with the cold.

"Na...tsu..."

A tear slipped from her eye as she sank into unconsciousness.

_Save me!_

. . .

"Natsu!" Happy called, "Wait for me!"

"You know what, Happy? We're just gonna do it OUR way! Fairy Tail's way!" A big goofy grin covered the dragon slayer's face while saying this, as he headed down the street to the city hall from where he'd been banned a couple hours ago. The blue exceed caught up to him, wondering what kind of ideas he had had.

"Our way," he had said... What was their way of doing things again? All Happy knew was that it implied lots and lots of destruction and beatings until the bad guys were positively bruised up... oh, and lots an lots of Lucy shouting at them, and...

_Well, we'll just have to see!_

"Aye sir!"

There began _their_ way. Natsu, in his enthusiasm, kicked the decorated wooden door of the city hall, sending it flying to the ground in front of countless aghast employees supposedly preparing for the closing hour peacefully. A thick dust screen was raised in the process, and everyone started coughing, crying, running into each other, a wave of panic overcoming them.

_And now what?_ They all thought, memories fresh of two mad guild members destroying the mayor's office and escaping by the window; still shivering at the thought of a raging mayor yelling at everything (yes, everything. He even fired a bunch of _potted flowers_ for standing in his way).

Not giving a damn about what he had just done, the Salamander entered the traveling agency-like room. In a loud voice, he asserted:

"We're takin' on the mission after all!"

And he turned around, spotting his flying companion next to him. He took a step out of the room, grabbed the large door in his bare hands and attempted to put it back in its original place, only managing to burn it to ashes partially. He smiled sheepishly, leaning the remainings of the once impressive door on the wall next to the entrance of the building.

"Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye sir!"

The two Fairy Tail members, totally oblivious of the stares the crowd sent them, made their way to a small square. Natsu abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned to Happy.

"What was the mission again?"

The blue exceed sweat dropped a little, thinking as Lucy would surely yell at him for being _that_ much oblivious of the important things... He brushed that thought off, suddenly aware of her absence. He explained what the request said to his dumb best friend. In short, the town wanted the mages to find what was wrong with the neighboring village, Valentine. There wasn't much information about the mission on the piece of paper, so Natsu and Happy settled to go to Valentine and see for themselves, despite the already late hour.

"I'm all fired up!" the Salamander shouted in the street, earning more scared looks from the townsfolk and the numerous tourists.

Natsu imagined the face Lucy would make to him for standing out too much and destroying part of the city _again_, and "what are your fists ablaze for? It's not even started yet!"... He could almost hear her scolding, and felt his body fill with an unsettling heat pulling on his heart mildly and making it beat faster. He recognized this feeling, it was the same one he felt whenever he thought about Igneel. It was... _longing_? Why the hell was he going nostalgic while thinking of Lucy? He had seen her just this morning!

"You're weird, Luce, making me feel like that..." he whispered to the wind, grinning faintly, and hoped it would deliver the message to his missing partner.

When the two buddies arrived at Valentine, the night had begun, and the lights of the town were already lit. As they entered the main street, they were totally taken aback.

"I can sense a huge magic power..." Happy stated, turning to his friend. "Natsu...?"

The dragon slayer had completely frozen, his eyes wide with surprise. He seemed crushed by what he was feeling.

"This smell... really... evil..." The dragon slayer whispered. "It's coming from here!" He suddenly exclaimed. He rushed to the center of the village, where a towering fountain stood. It was brightly lit and represented a cupid throwing an arrow to the sky. A trickle of water streamed down from the tip of the arrow. The water was tainted in bright pink with magic, making it feel like the cupid was really radiating _love_.

Except something was off, something that transformed the message of love of the cupid in one of hostility: the whole sculpture was graven in a deep black ore which emitted dark strong magic. It was beautiful, but somewhat fearsome, like... like when you look at the night sky and suddenly realize it has no end, and you're alone, lost in it. And the whole world is responsible for your life of suffering. That's right, the whole world is your enemy! You're going to make it pay for your...

"Natsu!"

"Wha...!" Natsu blinked, dumbfounded. "Happy! What happened?"

The exceed was standing in front of his friend, shivering, eyes full of fear. He let out a relieved sigh when the eyes of the dragon slayer returned to normal and when his fists relaxed.

"I don't know, you were looking at that fountain and suddenly your eyes changed. You looked like you were gonna _kill_ someone... It was really scary! It was really scary..." And he started crying.

"It's okay now," Natsu said with a soothing voice, a small reassuring smile playing on his lips. He took his blue companion in his arms and patted his back until he was calm again.

.

"You sure we shouldn't go back to destroy that weird fountain? It seemed pretty evil to me..." Natsu said, skeptical.

"We're not sure it's what we're searching for yet... We should talk to the people in the village first to get some kind of hint..." Happy answered, not totally convinced by what he said. After the fountain incident, the exceed hadn't left Natsu's shoulder, sending him worried glances from time to time. The Salamander, who had noticed his friend's behavior, sighed, admitting defeat.

"Okay... Let's just ask what's going on somewhere, then. There's light in here, we'll be able to talk to someone." He said, pointing at the castle in front of them.

The two friends hurried to the door. They didn't have time to knock (or smash it): it suddenly opened, revealing an old woman in a maid outfit. Her white hair was tied in a tight ponytail, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed in a thin line.

"You're the new employees? Good! Come on, let's go!"

And without further ado, she pushed the two agape Fairy Tail mages into the castle and closed the door behind them.

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

_So that's it for now... What did you guys think? Was it too long? Too short? Not enough action? Or too much? Or... something else to say? I wanna know! All you have to do is review =)_


	4. First impressions

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. _

_Sorry for the long wait, to be honest I don't have any proper excuse, but I really didn't have inspiration... _

_By the way, big thanks to __GoldenRoseTanya__, __Nightshadowmidnight__ and __xXxSnowyDreamxXx__ for your kind reviews!_

_Check out __xXxSnowyDreamxXx__'s story if you have time, it's called A Dragon's Tale and it's really worth reading! :)_

_Now, on with the story!_

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

**Chapter 4: First impressions are always essential in a relationship**

"Are all the passengers gathered?" a sly, calm voice asked with a tone that could mean only one thing: whoever he was, he was the leader here.

"Yes, master."

"Good. Now, carry out the intended plan."

Lucy tried to move; she still felt damn cold, but managed to crack open her eyes. She realized she was tied up next to the now bruised girl from before. Said girl whispered to her, her voice filled with fear: "You finally woke up... Are you okay? I'm sorry I wasn't of much help back then..."

"I'm just fine," the celestial mage answered, keeping her words low as well. "It's okay... it was my role to protect every one, but as usual, I failed without Natsu..." her voice broke as she uttered his name. She felt tears prickle in the corner of her eyes. _No! Don't start thinking about him! Don't!_ She screamed to herself.

She couldn't help but state the obvious: once again, she was in a desperate situation; once again, if Natsu had been with her, he would have beaten the bandits without breaking a sweat; once again, "useless" was the perfect word to describe her actions. The only difference with every other times was that Natsu wouldn't come to save her. She was _alone_ to deal with her problems. A shiver ran down her spine, though she didn't know whether it was one of cold or of despair.

"What's your name?" the black haired girl asked, driving her out of her depressing thoughts.

"Lucy. And you?"

"Layla." A cute smile made its way to her injured face as she told Lucy her name.

Her answer made the heart of the celestial mage stop at once.

"Lay...la?" she repeated, stunned.

She didn't have time to assimilate the information; already the bandits were approaching the battered group of hostages. Lucy raised her head to face them, regaining her composure. The two brothers were eying her like they were going to eat her alive. Another shiver ran through her, and she glared at the two, especially the one who could control water.

They were accompanied by another man, definitely the leader, seeing as the brothers withdrew to let him walk past them. He could have been rather good-looking with his curly blond hair and his tanned skin, but the hatred painted all over his face and especially in his jet black eyes made it impossible to find it beautiful. It was even hard to distinguish human traits, Lucy realized, frightened.

One of the brothers started shouting at them:

"Hey, you bunch of roaches, wake up! Here's what's going to happen: all the loving couples will kindly follow us to the headquarters of the guild at Val, and the rest will let themselves be killed without too much cries and tragedy!"

Lucy hadn't really listened to his little speech at the beginning, but one word had caught her attention: so they were a guild? Surely a dark guild; no official guild she knew would attack a train and make the passengers their hostages...

He added something for his brother only to hear, but the celestial mage made out part of it. "...damn Couple Contest,..." A couple contest? Now _that_ was interesting! Lucy knew only one place in Fiore where a couple contest was held in the summer: Talinvene! _Maybe I'll get to see Natsu and Happy sooner than I imagined!_ She thought, recovering her good mood bit by bit, the perspective of seeing her partner warming her freezing body from the inside.

She noticed that in the meantime the leader of the guild had kept on looking in her direction with blank eyes.

And suddenly, she saw his whole face change, his mask of hatred replaced by an expression of utter bliss. A little blush even made its way to his cheeks. It was like watching Happy in front of a plate of fish, his eyes running through their roasted bodies lovingly, his nostrils tickling at the delicate smell... Wait, _lovingly?_

_Oh no, I can't believe he fell for me in that split seconds! Well, I guess it can't be helped, I'm so sexy no man could resist my charms..._

"Change in the plan!" he yelled, earning a concerned look from the brothers. "We're taking this muse with us to the guild!" He stepped forward; Lucy's heart started to race in anticipation. It was a golden opportunity to get closer to Tal! The blond man bent down to face the prisoners; the celestial mage couldn't help but close her eyes for a moment.

"Milady," the leader said in a lovestruck tone, "it's a pleasure."

"S-same fo...," Lucy started, utterly embarrassed, trying not to sound too disgusted by the man.

"Hum... I'm sorry sir but I already have a fiancé..."

_Huh?!_

Lucy quickly opened her eyes only to find the leader of the bandits addressing to no other than the girl sitting next to her. Her cheeks went from red to white and to red again as she understood what had happened. _The guy hasn't fallen for me but for the Lad... for Layla!_ She could very well imagine her blue cat friend making fun of her for being too self-conscious and having no sex appeal... Her skin became as red as a ripe cherry as she saw the brothers, who had obviously read her mind the all time, laughing at her behind their leader's back.

When the leader tried to kiss Layla, ignoring her faint cries of protest, the Fairy Tail mage got a hold of herself. She somehow managed to put herself between the madly in love evil man and the innocent girl and asserted in a loud voice:

"Hey, didn't she tell you she was taken already? Get your dirty hands off of her right now!"

The man stood up slowly, returning to his cold self as he glowered at Lucy. After a moment, he burst out laughing.

"Girl, you know you're not in a position to tell me what to do, right? Though you have guts to be standing to the almighty master of the Black Dynamites! Theo, Doris!" He then called.

_Just a little bit more! I can almost feel them!_

"Yes, Master Leeds!"

_A tiny bit..._

"You know what's left to do..." A smile lingered on his lips. "Bye, milady, see you soon!"

After a last kiss blown in the direction of Layla, he was gone.

The brothers stepped to the prisoners, smiling widely at the idea of massacring a whole crowd of people.

_Got it!_

"I open thee, gate of the... Anyway, I open thee!" Lucy whispered, having no idea which key she had managed to reach trough her ties. A blinding light coming from the key made the brothers freeze in front of the celestial mage, wondering what she was preparing, _again_. To have her oppose them every two seconds was kind of annoying... _No, it's definitely fun_, Theo and Doris thought at the same time, seeing the mage's face darken visibly at the sight of the thing that had appeared. The brothers stopped in their tracks to study it: it was a girl with light brown hair holding a lyre in her hands; she seemed totally dumbfounded to be standing here.

"Hum, Lyra, hey... Could you please untie me and the other people? It's a little bit of a life or death situation, and I thought you could... be of some help?" Lucy told her spirit with a sheepish smile, not even convinced by her own words.

"No problem! I'm so glad you summoned me! It's been a while, I was beginning to think you had forgotten me..." Said spirit babbled joyfully, somehow managing to cut the ropes with her instrument (no way was she going to put it on the floor!)

"Thank y... Look out!" The Fairy Tail member jumped to her feet and pushed Lyra to the side just in time to save her from the punch one of the brothers had thrown at her. Too late for her to avoid the blow though.

A loud crack was heard, followed by a groan of pain.

After a little blank, the audience consisted mostly of the hostages and of some guild members who had partly recovered from their brief meeting with Edo-Lucy were the unfortunate witnesses of the most violent battle of all times. Mothers put their hands before the eyes of their children to prevent them from seeing the bloodbath that ensued; even some bandits had to look away in order to keep the contents of their stomachs... well,_ in _their stomachs.

**Attention please: As the author doesn't want her readers to be shocked by the fury developed against the poor, **_poor_**brothers, she is going to start telling the story from the aftermath of the fight.**

A stunned Lucy sat on the ground, her newest bruise completely forgotten.

"No one lays a finger on my owner, you bastards!" And with a last huff in the direction of the beaten brothers, Lyra went off to the Spirit world.

"Uh... t-thank you..." Lucy stuttered, taken aback. She watched the brothers lie out cold in front of her. Smirking inwardly, she got up to her feet, the adrenaline running through her enough to help her up. She managed to untie the ropes of every body and as soon as it was done, she cried for them to get out of here. They didn't have to be told twice.

She registered Layla hadn't moved from her spot on the ground. _Maybe she's too hurt to even get up... _the celestial mage assumed, walking to her, not worrying too much about the still petrified bandits.

"Are you able to stand?" the Fairy Tail member asked in a soft tone, reaching a hand to the small figure. Layla accepted the help, her knees weak and quivering because of what she had just lived. It isn't everyday that the master of a dark guild hits on you, after all!

After ensuring her newly found friend would not fall, Lucy looked around her, satisfied to see every prisoner had gone far enough to not be visible anymore. She turned back to where the bandits stood... or rather where they _should_ be standing. Once again, they had fled from the place, the mage realized, quite content. She approached the brothers laying pitifully on the floor, making sure they were a hundred percent knocked out. She was about to step away from the mess with Layla when a familiar voice filled the air, coming from behind the two girls.

"Oh no, you're not leaving us so soon!" it shouted in their direction.

Recognizing _oh too well_ the voice, the two remaining passengers of the train turned slowly to face the master of the dark guild that had attacked them. He had that same look of hatred painted all over his face, and even the sight of Layla wasn't able to soften it one bit; he was obviously infuriated at them for ruining his plan. Lucy gulped soundly and sent a glance at her new friend, who seemed as frightened as her, if not more.

"So you think you can beat senseless my two lieutenants and not have to face the consequences?" A hideous smile appeared on his face as he said those words, approaching the brothers' figures and pushing them ruthlessly with his foot to wake them up. It took some time but eventually Theo and Doris started moving and stood up ever so slowly, holding their battered bodies. The master didn't look one bit like he cared about the health of his minions, and ignored their hurt expressions, lost in his own thoughts.

After a silence broken only by the soft whimpering of the brothers, he said to the two stunned girls:

"What am I going to do with you? Kill you?" At that point, a pained expression replaced his mask of hatred briefly, as he went on. "No, I couldn't possibly bear to lose my love just after finding it!"

_Is he really honest about his love for Layla?_ Lucy thought, skeptical, after witnessing his change of look.

"Leave you here? Don't even dream about it!"

And he broke into a fit of loud laughter. Regaining his composure, he declared:

"So that leaves only one option for you: take you with me and make use of you in order to win the Couple Contest!"

It was clear that he was addressing to Layla alone, Lucy realized suddenly as he turned his gaze towards her and his voice became icy again:

"As for you..." A shiver went through her body. She was beginning to grow accustomed to the feeling... "I'm keeping you as well!" He decided. "I like your bravery and your bad temper! I'll let you remain my honey's bodyguard if you insist."

The celestial mage was speechless. _Keeping? Am I a thing? _Her expression darkened dangerously._ But then I'll get to go to Tal! _Her face briefly showed a bright smile. _Bravery?_ Her mouth opened, as if to say something. _Bad temper?_ Her teeth clenched together, she let out a low growl. _Remain a bodyguard?!_

"What the hell, do I look like a bodyguard to you? Well, like I'm going to follow you around!" she yelled in the direction of the master, who had followed the changes in expression of the girl with a mix of amusement and disdain. "Come, Layla! We're leaving here!" she then boldly stated, taking a step towards her friend.

In one instant, he was standing in front of her, pinning her to a large tree, with only brute force. At the edge of panic, Lucy saw his eyes connect with hers, his mouth turn into a snarl, letting show his long a sharp-looking canines. The poor mage was utterly petrified. She couldn't even manage to think, or even to breath. She had never been confronted to a more threatening being.

The master's snarl somehow became a smile, and he whispered into his prey's ear:

"Did I mention you didn't have a choice?"

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_So, how did you find it? Lucy is (finally) about to get closer to Natsu! Next chapter will be mostly around Natsu, for this one followed only Lucy._

_How about you review so that I know what you thought? That'd be really nice!_


	5. Let's play hide and seek!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

_Hi guys! Sooo sorry for the long wait, I really didn't have time to write... And I didn't really have inspiration either... xD anyway, here's a new chapter, hope you like it! =) I know the beginning isn't captivating at all, but I really didn't know how to make it...epic. But promise, the end is a little more action-full!_

_By the way, big thanks to xXxSnowyDreamxXx, GoldenRoseTanya, Nightshadowmidnight (woah, your names are too long guys! xD it's hard copying them) and Disappear500 for your heartwarming reviews! Enjoy =)_

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

**Chapter 5: let's play hide and seek!**

Natsu entered his assigned room, exhausted, followed by an equally tired Happy, who crashed on the bed and fell instantly asleep. Through the dark and dusty curtains, one could recognize the early dawn making the starry sky paler and paler.

The dragon slayer didn't bother taking off his clothes or shoes before he collapsed on the bed next to Happy. The people in the castle were true tyrants! Natsu shivered at all the work he had been given until now... The obaa-chan who had welcomed the two Fairy Tail members hadn't let them speak a word before shoving them into a locker-room, giving them black and red uniforms with a baton of dynamite drawn on the shirt, for them to change (though she had struggled a little before finding a Happy-seized uniform). She had then taken them to the back of the castle, where she had told them they would be carrying the decorations for the Couple Contest to the Ball Room... that is, until Natsu had inadvertently stepped in an oil puddle and fallen to the ground... with a bunch of expensive-looking curtains in hands.

Scolding, the obaa-chan had led them to the kitchen, and told them to wash the tableware they would need for the banquet. However, when Happy had tripped on the stack of plates, making them crash on the floor noisily, they had been banned from any "delicate" tasks (if washing some dishes can be called a delicate task...) and had to clean the kitchen before finally being allowed to go to bed.

They hadn't even learnt the slightest thing that was wrong with the village!

_But something is indeed wrong..._, Natsu suddenly thought, his mind drifting further and further into sleepiness. It had hit him all the while how every room contained at least a piece of the same black ore as the fountain outside, and how it seemed to glow an even darker aura whenever someone was standing close enough to it. He didn't know whether Happy had noticed it too, but he would have to have a talk with him tomorrow... Yeah, tomorrow would be fine...

.

"..to wake up!" a low grainy voice yelled from the corridor, accompanied by the loud sound of a fry pan being hit again and again.

"Too loud..." both Fairy Tail mages groaned in unison, shifting positions to a more comfortable one.

The door of the room burst open and the man holding the fry pan entered, making Natsu and Happy jump out of bed at once with a small yelp.

"C'm'on, let's get goin'!" he exclaimed with a slight accent.

The man, who introduced himself as Korri, had a wrinkled face and a pair of lively eyes matching his warm smile. He was a short man, and Natsu couldn't help but see Master Makarov in him a little. Then he noticed how the vase made of the black ore didn't glow any darker than usual in Korri's presence; he decided he liked the guy.

Korri turned his gaze toward the black vase as well, scrutinizing the dragon slayer's face and letting out an imperceptible sigh, before asserting:

"My wife's told me all about your "exploits" of yesterday... Happy and Natsu, was it?" His wrinkled grin let show how much amused he was. "So today ya'll be workin' with me!"

The two fellow mages followed the old man out of the castle and into a little building next to it. Inside stood a large shelf full of heavy looking pickaxes and shovels. Next to it was a coffer containing explosives, according to the warning written in big red letters on its upper part.

"Tonight, we're minin'!" the old man declared before any of the mages had time to open their mouth. "In fact, we would have gone with the rest, but ya were really hard to wake up..." Korri added in a playful tone.

"That's just so exciting! Right, Happy? I've never been in a mine before!" Natsu practically squealed in excitement. Happy followed with his usual "Aye, sir!", and both of them turned to Korri with big smiles on their faces.

Satisfied with their enthusiasm, the man picked out material and helmets for all of them and led them to the entrance of the mine, all the way chatting. He told them mining was an old tradition in Valentine and that some months ago, as the mine was about to close its door because of its poor profits, the inhabitants had discovered a new ore which proved to be very expensive _and_ present in a great amount in the village's underground. They had since that time started business again, and had built the cupido-fountain to replace the former one. At that, Korri's face fell a little, as if having confused feelings about this new ore, but his smile was back in an instant as he told them about his wife, who was none other than the woman who had welcomed them the day before.

But once arrived, his expression turned serious when he declared:

"Since it's your first time, there's a thing or two I need ta tell ya. While minin', never forget this: security first."

Natsu and Happy nodded, showing they had understood the message.

.

Korri was really talkative, and he had to carry a heavy burden; as time passed and Happy and Natsu got to experience what it's like to work in a mine (to their delight, obviously), he started opening up to them, telling about his former life in the mine, about his wife and his son, Kozan, who had died in an explosion in the mine several years ago. He told them about the ore found in the depth of Valentine, and how the atmosphere seemed to have changed so much from before since they had built that fountain and redecorated the whole village in black.

While Natsu had kept silent when Korri was speaking about his son, his eyes sad despite the fact he hadn't known him, he couldn't help asking questions about the black ore to the old man.

So Korri went on:

"Well, ya see, Valentine and Talinvene 'ave always been rivals. It's hard to admit, but Val is kinda... jealous of Tal's popularity. So every year, we organize a Couple Contest. It's a way of showing we're worth it too! It's become a tradition over the years, and now people from all over Fiore come to see it!" He looked very proud of this fact. "It's a completely peaceful event. Even couples from outside our villages can participate."

He paused for a little, preparing for a big announcement: "I've won the Couple Contest with my wife once!"

The fire dragon slayer gaped, and congratulated the old man loudly, but when his mind wandered to a certain blond celestial mage, his cheeks reddened uncontrollably and he urged his new friend to go on with his story.

_I wish she were here..._, he thought, a depressed sigh escaping his lips without him noticing.

"Ya're right... The rest of the story is really not happy... After the discovery of the black ore, people's mind started takin' Tal as an enemy more than a rival. They started hatin' everythin' that came from Tal, and they focused on the Couple Contest even more than usual. They even kicked out every one who was single, just to win this damn contest!"

Korri was literally fuming with anger and distress. His voice dropped, and came his confession to Natsu and Happy:

"I think – ya've noticed it like I 'ave, right? - the black ore has somethin' to do with this change. Every time some one gets close enough to it, it glows an even darker aura, and their eyes too! I thought I was the only one who wasn't affected by it, but ya two are also fine with the ore's aura, right?"

Natsu suddenly remembered their arrival at Val and their first encounter with the fountain. Happy must have thought the same, because he gripped his fellow's leg, little tears in his eyes. Natsu put his pickaxe to the floor and took the exceed in his arms, comforting him.

"And there's more... I'm not positive, but I think a dark guild has settled in the castle, maintaining the hate level to its highest."

The two Fairy Tail mages' head shot up, and they began asking question after question, until Korri interrupted them to continue his explanations.

"So, I was sayin'... Ah, right, a dark guild... In fact, new people suddenly came to live in town soon after we started extractin' the ore, and they took the lead of the preparations for the Couple Contest. They often call Leeds "master" too... And the mark on our clothes, yes, the black baton of dynamite here; they've brought it to the village. It could be their sign... right?"

The two mages were completely still, disgusted expressions on their faces. What? They had had another guild's emblem on them the whole time?! What's more, a dark guild's?! They briefly considered ripping their clothes to pieces right off, but a thought kept them from doing so (at least it did for Natsu...).

_I'm not a stripper like Gray!_

"Okay, Korri, we'll be right back. They're in the castle, huh?" The pink haired dragon slayer cried, hurrying to the lift before the man could answer, followed by an equally excited Happy.

_Time for a little action, at last!_

They ran (and flew) to the castle at full speed, wondering how badly the guild had infiltrated the village, when Natsu abruptly stopped in his tracks, his face livid, earning a questioning gaze from Happy.

_This smell, this chocolate flavored strawberries scent (AN: I know it doesn't make any sense... but hey, who said Natsu had rational thoughts when it came to Lucy? =p), it's... it's Lucy!_

And he rushed to the castle even faster than before, the dark guild out of his mind in an instant.

"LUCY!"

.

"Release us!" Lucy yelled as Layla and her were thrown into a luxurious room by the two snickering brothers. The one who controlled water, Theo, burst out laughing, soon joined by Doris, who told the two young women with a smirk:

"I don't think you'll be able to come out in a while... Not before the Couple Contest anyway... But you can _try_ to, it'll be fun! Oh, by the way..." he approached Lucy, and in a swift movement took hold of her keys "it'd be too easy if you can summon people to help, so I'm taking those with me!"

And with that, they were gone.

The celestial mage rushed to the door and banged on it with all her strength, screaming insanities, and Layla sat on one of the comfortable bed, feeling beaten. In her rage, Lucy drove the doorknob down, and tried to open the door... succeeded.

_This bunch of morons, not even locking the door_, she thought, calling Layla enthusiastically.

"Look! They haven't bothered to lock it!"

The Fairy Tail member stepped out in the corridor. Found herself on the other end of the room. She gasped, not grasping the situation. When Layla tried to go out too, she was somehow transported instantly right next to the wide window reflecting the moon crescent. The mage's mind suddenly realized what had just happened.

Prison magic.

Lucy had already read about it in a book. It was magic that could basically transform a closed space, such as a room or a cell, into and endless circle. When you stepped out, you were taken up randomly into the prison again, and so on until the spell was dismissed.

"We're never gonna leave this place..." she whispered in despair, knowing the force of the magic. "I don't even have my keys with me... You two damn brothers, when I see you, you're dead!" she yelled, anger taking over at once. It was probably the work of Doris, the second brother... She was so going to beat them to a bloody pulp sometime!

"Hum... Lucy-san?" Layla interrupted her monologue softly.

"What?" Lucy snapped, before realizing she wasn't addressing to the brothers any more. "What is it, Layla?" she said more softly.

"Do you know what is going on with this room?" she asked quizzically.

So the celestial mage explained the situation to her friend.

"And what about the window?" Layla asked hopefully, turning to said window and opening it. "We're just on the first floor afte..."

Suddenly, a loud yell was heard, coming from outside the castle.

"LUCY!"

"NATSU!" Lucy's voice was out without her registering; in an instant, she was climbing on the window frame and jumping to rejoin her partner... just to land in the center of the room.

.

She was in the castle, no doubt about it. Her smell was overwhelming to his mind, intoxicating even. He wanted more of it, he wanted to see her and be sure she was fine. What if they had done something to her? He just couldn't bare thinking of a hurting Lucy all by herself, and just took even larger and larger steps.

In a couple of seconds, he was on the first floor, in the corridor, in front of the door...

"Lucy!"

In this room, the smell was the most powerful, like she was standing in the center, and he barged in like a madman, calling her name once again.

.

"Natsu!" her broken voice managed to utter through her tears. Her partner had found her even despite the prison magic cast on the room. Everything would be fine now! She stood up hurriedly and ran to him.

Except instead of landing onto his chest, she just ran past him. Or rather_ through_ him.

"Wha...?!"

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Al-right! That's it for now. =) I know it was kinda mean to end the chapter at such a moment, but hey!, Natsu and Lucy have never been so close to reuniting!_

_*hears sobs in the background* "Happy, I promise I haven't forgotten about you! You'll catch up Natsu... eventually." "What's that supposed to mean?!"_

_Anyway, please review so I know what you thought! I don't really know what the next chapter will be like yet but I'm pretty sure there'll be more action in it =)_


	6. Feelings like a roller coaster

___Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. _

___Hey guys! Long time no see! Well, sorry about that long wait... T-T_

___But, hey! I'm back! And here's a new chapter for you._

___I won't make any promises about the next update, sorry... I only write when I have both time __and____ inspiration, and those times aren't a daily occurrence._

___Anyway, enjoy! =)_

___. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

**Chapter 6: Feelings like a roller coaster**

Natsu groggily opened his eyes. The room was in the dark, the only light coming from a tiny window near the ceiling. His back laid on damp stone, and he could feel iron handcuffs around his wrists. The only sounds getting to his ears were the _plic, ploc_ of water hitting stone in a steady rhythm, and soft sobs in the distance. His whole body felt sore, and his head throbbed painfully, but he didn't think much of it.

For one, he was used to far worse pain than this.

For two, pain was completely forgotten when a surge of panic hit him full force, and he knew something was deeply wrong, even though he couldn't get what. His memory was foggy; each time he tried to remember, his panic level got higher and higher, making his heart race, having him struggle against his cuffs with all he had.

Though the chains did not bulge, no matter how hard he tried; even when his skin got several scratches on the wrists because of his wrestling.

It was so frustrating, knowing something – or _someone_ – he cared about needed his help, and not being able to do anything!

The Fairy Tail mage let out a low grunt.

A faint voice sounded in the room, interrupting his efforts to get out of his binds. He turned to face it, and made out the shape of a woman in the cell next to his in the dim light.

"Are... you... awake?" the voice croaked, through little sobs.

"Yeah," Natsu replied, his voice hoarse. "Are you alright?"

"I... I'm the unluckiest person on Earthland!" the woman suddenly cried, louder than he thought possible. How did she even manage to cry that loud when two seconds ago the only sounds going out of her mouth were hardly audible sobs? Natsu felt his headache worsen at hearing all her crying.

"...what happened to you?" he asked when it recessed a bit.

"You mean, aside from the train I was in being attacked by a dark guild, the master of said guild hitting on me and bringing me here, then locking me in this cell because he thought you had come to save me? Not much, I guess."

"Woah, you really are an unlucky person..." Natsu missed the dirty look the woman in the cell next to him sent him. "Though you said the master of the dark guild thought I had come to save you? How's it even possible, I don't even know you!"

"You... do you even remember what happened last night?" the woman asked the mage quizzically.

Silence ensued as Natsu searched his mind out for a helpful memory; he found lots of worry and anger and panic. However, no clear image of the events of the previous night.

"Can you..." he started, unsure of what to say. "...tell me what you know?"

The woman huffed, but talked nonetheless.

"I'm Layla, by the way."

"Natsu."

"Okay, let me start with the beginning?"

Quick nod.

"I was on this train to Buttercup – was it two, or three days ago? - that would lead me to my fiancé..." Layla's voice trailed off and a pink blush appeared on her cheeks, matching the dreamy look she had on. But her features soon darkened as she went on with the story. "...I never made it to Buttercup, since the train was attacked by a dark guild, the Black Dynamites. That's when I met a girl mage who protected me and the other passengers with all she had. Though it wasn't enough and we were about to get slaughtered when the master of the guild – his name is Leeds, I think; he's so scary! - stepped in the picture and somewhat... fell in love with me."

Layla paused at that, her face horror struck.

"He decided to bring me with him... well, in this castle, and when the girl mage tried to interpose, he just laughed at her and took her with him too.

"Then we were transported in a special kind of prison, one where you couldn't get out even when you actually _got out_!" - there was a a hysterical edge to her voice as she told about the prison magic. "We were about to try and escape by the window when we heard someone scream my companion's name from outside. It was you.

"My companion, she seemed so relieved and happy when she heard you that she downright jumped from the window. It failed, but you were in the room soon after that anyway.

"Though, you didn't seem to be able to see or hear us, and when she tried to touch you, it didn't work either...

"After that several other persons came in, among them was the master of the guild. When he arrived hell had already broken loose; part of the room – part of the _castle_ - was on fire, the brothers had picked a fight with you, and Leeds totally misinterpreted. He thought you were trying to save_ me_! He got mad and locked the both of us in those cells.

"That's pretty much all I know. I just hope my friend is okay..." by the end of her speech, Layla had a far away look on her face, and the last sentence was a mere whisper, as if she was talking to herself.

Natsu had stayed silent throughout the whole story, trying hard to remember the night the girl in front of him was describing. But despite all his efforts, the events remained stranger to him. He groaned in frustration.

"You say... I was trying to save your friend?" he started after a blank.

"Obviously." Layla's eye roll was apparent in her tone. "You called her name at least a thousand times before getting knocked out by Leeds."

"I got_ what_?!" His disbelief echoed in his voice when he heard he had_ lost_ a fight. To the master of a _dark guild_, no less.

"...lost. I lost." No wonder he had repressed his memories in the depth of his mind! He was in the middle of picking up the pieces of his broken pride when Layla interrupted his whining, annoyed.

"Will you cut that out? We have to get out of here, Lucy might actually be in dang..."

"Lucy?! What about her?" Natsu had jolted up at hearing his partner's name.

"Oh, please! Don't tell me you have also forgotten about your friend!"

"Is she... is Lucy the friend you made on that train, who tried to help you?"

"Wow, what a cunning spirit you have! Did you find that on your own? So impressed!..." Layla ranted. Though her sarcasm didn't reach her cellmate, who was finally able to put a name on all his emotions. And who was currently busy melting the chains around his wrists anyway. Maybe unconsciously. The mage himself wasn't sure of what he was doing. _Lucy_, of all people, was _in danger_. He just couldn't bare the thought. So his mind had decided to simply stop thinking, to his relief. Only problem, now it was up to his body to express his feelings, and the reaction it was giving was kind of... hot.

A strong smell of burning soon filled the air in the cells, as well as Layla's panicked screeches, effectively taking Natsu out of his lethargy.

They decided on a course of action in order to help their friend.

First step, getting them both out of this metal and stone prison.

Not until Natsu was about to pull on his chains to try and free himself did he register they had completely melted to a steaming puddle at his feet. A sheepish grin graced his features, his first smile since he had awoken. How had he not thought about it? He had been all about using his strength to get him out, forgetting his most precious ally: his fire.

Getting up warily (his head still throbbed painfully), the Fairy Tail member made his way to the metal bars separating him from Layla's cell and melted them as he had with his chains. He freed Layla and both of them were about to move out of their prison and get started with the second step of their plan, when Layla abruptly stopped in her tracks and looked at her new companion worriedly.

"We're prisoners, right?" she asked, more to herself than to Natsu. "And not _any_ prisoners; I mean, master Leeds fell for me and you almost transformed the castle into a pile of ashes last night..." The dragon slayer could only nod nervously, feeling more than ready to get going already. "But... why isn't there a single guard outside our cells?"

Natsu stared quizzically at her until finally she explained what she found funny:

"What I _mean_ is," she said, speaking slowly and making sure to articulate, as if Natsu was a three-year-old, "it's weird! It could be a trap."

At that the dragon slayer's blood could only boil; his fists went ablaze without him noticing and he bore his onyx eyes into the green ones of the woman in front of him, about to explode.

"What are you freaking thinking? I couldn't care less if there's a trap out there! Hell, if there isn't then _tha_t'll be weird! Do you really want to rescue Lucy, or what?!" he barked.

A heavy silence then settled in the cell, both Natsu and Layla staring at each other intently. Layla's face had gone pale, understanding shone in her eyes, as well as fear. Just a tiny little bit of it. Not that she'd admit it to the Fairy Tail mage after his outburst.

"Who wants to rescue who?" a slightly smug voice was suddenly heard behind them even as a key turning in the lock of Layla's cell clicked.

All anger and anxiety got out of Natsu's chest at once, replaced by relief, when he recognized the owner of the voice. A cheeky grin instantly appeared on his face as he turned around and called happily:

"Lucy, you're alright!"

Finally, he felt whole, he had found what he had lost.

___. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

___Please, pretty please, review so I know what you thought!_


	7. Eyes wide open

___Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. _

___Hey guys! ^^ Feel like reading another chapter? 'cause I have one for you! Hope you like it! Though I'd feel bad if I didn't warn you: this chapter is reaaaally mushy, at least in my opinion, and in the opinion of my beta, so please don't let your brains turn liquid and leak through your ears!_

___Thanks to GoldenRoseTanya, CelestialTitania and Disappear500 for the reviews! I just love reviews. XD_

___. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

**Chapter 7: Eyes wide open**

"Lucy, you're alright!"

Natsu's voice was still sounding in the cell when the door opened. Lucy raised her head and her gaze met her partner's for the first time since he had left with Happy several days ago.

The dragon slayer had his goofy grin on, to a point where his cheeks started hurting, but it was just too much asked of him to stop smiling right now.

Lucy stood, slightly breathless, a dazzling smile lighting her face, making her eyes shine like stars despite the surrounding darkness. Her hair was a golden mane that flowed past her shoulders disorderly, her clothes were dirty and torn, her cheeks were pink and several beads of sweat stood out on her forehead. She had never appeared so beautiful to her best friend. At her sight, said best friend's breath caught in his throat and his heart raced impossibly fast. Suddenly he felt dizzy, and had to clutch at the bar directly next to him in order to remain standing.

He saw her expression darken visibly as she gazed at him; was it _pain_ he was able to make out in these beautiful brown eyes? Why was she feeling pain? Was she hurt? Where? Who had dared...?

"You're hurt..." she whispered to him, worry all over her features.

Natsu stared quizzically at her, before understanding finally made its way to his foggy brain. His smile widened more as he realized she wasn't injured. He just shrugged in answer to her statement. How could he not be okay, when _she_ was?

He took a step forward and slowly raised his arms, not averting his gaze from Lucy's. He was about to wrap her in a bone-crushing hug when he was beaten to it by his cellmate, who sprang at the celestial mage like a madwoman.

"Lucy-san!" she cried, and Lucy chuckled softly, stroking her friend on the head gently.

Natsu could only stay put, his arms outstretched toward the two girls in front of him, feeling very dumb. And what was that other emotion tearing at his heart, making him want Layla gone, or far away from Lucy, at the very least? Was it... anger? No, it was quite different from regular anger. It was more... violent. Unexpected. He had never felt so flustered before. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. But the scene in front of his eyes had him emitting a low growl that meant something like "keep your dirty hands away from my property!" in the language of wild dragons. Wait, _property_? What the hell was he thinking about? He couldn't be... about _Lucy_, right? The dragon slayer blinked, realizing the bar he had been clutching at had been reduced to a pool of boiling liquid running down his hand slowly.

The celestial mage bore her eyes into the onyx ones of her best friend once again before stating in a serious tone:

"Now, we really need to get out of here. I was able to escape the twins' guard, but if I'm not back there in more than two minutes they'll noti..."

"What the hell?! You're not going back to those dark guild bastards!" Natsu let out, effectively cutting his partner off. _I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again_, he added mentally.

The blond mage just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"No choice. I need to get my keys back, Doris stole them from me when he locked us with his prison magic in that room last night."

"You're not going alone, at least! We're coming with you!"

"Oh, don't worry about me being alone. Happy and Korri - a grandpa from Val I met today, but who's really nice! He looks a bit like Master Makarov, in my opinion..." Natsu gave her a knowing smile when she referred to his mining friend. He was also glad to hear about the blue exceed, truth be told he hadn't seen him for a while... "Anyway, they've been helping me all day long. Together we've gathered quite a bit of information, and... well, listen close."

Her face was dead serious by now, her tone grim as she went on.

"The dark guild, the Black Dynamites, they have a plan to destroy all of Earthland. No big surprise considering it's a dark guild, right, but the thing is they might actually succeed! Leeds is more than a little strong..." her voice faltered at that, and her eyes flickered to Natsu's swelled forehead, where dark blood was still drying. "...and they've got loads of Black Ore... Its power is really terrifying... I've never been under its spell, but every one else in the castle is! It wakes their hate for everything, if it was to be used at a large scale... nothing would remain."

Lucy's distress was so apparent in her voice that Natsu instinctively put a supportive hand on her shoulder, making her smile slightly. It failed to reach her eyes, though.

"They intend to start with Val and Tal, tonight, at the Couple Contest. They're absolutely mad about that contest, I really don't understand why... According to what we've heard, after they win the contest, they're going to have the inhabitants of the two villages fight to death, under the spell of the Black Ore, and the survivors will constitute the first soldiers in Leeds' army, along with the guild members already obeying him."

"We won't let that happen." Layla and Natsu said in synch, determination in their voices, making Lucy eye them carefully, before nodding once.

"We have a plan set. You have a part to play as well."

The celestial mage took a deep breath before continuing.

"We have to take Leeds by surprise. So we'll let the Couple Contest take place, and prepare to strike in the mean time. Korri and I will deal with the Brothers and the other guild members, while Happy will be in the Ball Room to make sure everyone remains safe. Anyway at this point there won't be a single guard standing, if everything goes well. And last, to have agents on all fronts, and to be able to keep Leeds busy at all times, you two will..."

Lucy's voice caught in her throat. Her mind seemed in turmoil, and she wouldn't raise her head to look directly at her friends. It was like it pained her physically to get her words out of her. When she started talking again, her voice was barely above a whisper. Which made it impossible for Layla and Natsu to hear what she wanted to tell them, for her words were completely covered by a humorless laughter sounding from the corridor.

"Well, well, well," a voice started,

"What do we have here?" another voice, similar to the first one, continued.

"Don't you find this little reunion moving, Theo?"

"Why don't we go join them, Doris?"

"Wouldn't you like that,"

"Princess?"

The three fellows had jumped when they had heard the voices, they were now face to face with two snickering men with jet black hair and matching uniforms. They had adopted threatening stances while talking, their ice blue stares never leaving Lucy's form all the while, eying her predatory-like.

"Don't call me that!" the celestial mage growled in their direction, while they slowly approached the group.

"Oh, come on,"

"_Princess_,"

"We know each other well enough by now!"

Their tone had a sickening power on Natsu. No, it fact, all of their beings made him sick. And the way the two men wouldn't acknowledge his presence, only talking to Lucy, only managed to make things worse. The Fairy Tail mage didn't know them, but he sure didn't carry them in his heart. And even that was an understatement.

Natsu snapped as one of the men was closing on Lucy and raising an arm toward her, as threatening as ever. He threw a punch at him, smirking when he felt something crack under his fingers. The dragon slayer didn't remember ever feeling satisfied after hitting someone (well, maybe that was a lie. He _did _feel the tiniest bit content when he managed to punch Gray), but right now the sight of the dark haired man holding his hand up to his chin had a soothing effect on him.

He glanced at his two friends. Layla had blanched and retreated to a corner of the cell, clearly afraid out her wits by the duo. Lucy, on the other hand, just looked infuriated. She held the gaze of one of their opponents and practically spat at him:

"Doris, you bastard, give me my keys back!"

"Princess, I suggest you step aside, your friend looks like he wants a revenge match on us," came Doris' cold answer.

A status quo had settled in the room; Natsu glaring at the two men and the two men glaring back at Natsu, Layla on the side and Lucy right in the middle. She looked somewhat confused now, as if facing an internal conflict.

"Let me fight them," Natsu whispered to her, a reassuring smile on. "Promise it'll be quick."

The celestial mage turned to face her partner, and after a short hesitation nodded her consent, worry all over her face.

"Watch out." she whispered back before going to stand next to Layla.

The dragon slayer stretched a bit as the two men in front of him dared him to approach them. He still felt sore after los..._losing _(he still couldn't believe it) against the master of the dark guild and lying in his cell for most of the day, and his head was far from healed, but it would have to do! Just the prospect of a good fight was enough to put him in a good mood.

"I'm all fired up!" he roared, his fists ablaze, before lunging at the man he had punched a minute ago.

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Well, that's it for now! Next time there'll be a lot of action, hopefully, and less talking. We're having things done the Fairy Tail way!_

_Don't forget to review so I know what you thought! It's really important to me! So press that button below, please!_


	8. Shattered bits

___Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. _

___Warning: this chapter is way... darker than the previous ones. It contains violence, swearing, death, and such festivities._

___Now, I'm really not so sure I managed to write the scene fine, so I really need your comments and impressions._

___Anyway, enjoy! ^o^_

___. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

**Chapter 8: Shattered bits**

Lucy made an effort to keep her breathing steady as she made her way to were Layla stood. Why had she agreed to her best friend's request? She had a bone to pick with the twins, too! After all, they had injured her and Layla pretty badly during their previous fight...

The celestial mage shuddered at the memory of the biting cold caused by Theo's magic. She admitted she'd rather have to face a mad Erza than feel her body stiffen slowly and painfully under the twin's spell. Once had been enough for her.

But still, she would have been quite satisfied to be able to beat them to a bleeding pulp...

The celestial mage gazed at Natsu. It had taken her several seconds of hesitation, but eventually she had nodded to her friend's request to fight the brothers on his own. His eyes had shone in such determination that she had felt it was really important to him to take the two minions down by himself. More important than it was to her.

She sighed. Now she could only hope everything would go just fine for the pink haired boy.

"I'm all fired up!" his voice sounded in the room, and he leaped in the air, aiming at Theo, who didn't have time to avoid the hit and was hurled to the wall. He landed with a loud thump and a groan of pain. Natsu then turned to his remaining opponent. Who had literally jumped toward him, eyes glistening with rage and malice, both fists clenched at his sides.

The dragon slayer countered the punch swiftly and retorted with his own, knocking Doris to the wall as well. He landed on his feet, facing the opposite direction of the brothers, and barely had enough time to turn around before the first brother was upon him; with the surprise effect, Theo managed to kick Natsu's torso, effectively draining out the air in his lungs in a quiet huff. Lucy had to think in order to keep her own lungs working. Her eyes were riveted to Natsu's back, her worry level far beyond bearable.

Not letting the Fairy Tail mage time to catch his breath, Theo threw a punch at him. This time Natsu caught it and drove back the dark guild member, making him fly across the room once again. A cocky smirk appeared on his face as both of his opponents stumbled on the wall, debris surrounding them, grunting and moaning in pain, their faces red with blood.

Lucy's worry alleviated a bit at the ease with which Natsu had managed to beat the two sergeants of Leeds; though she couldn't bring herself to smile. She still had a terribly wrong feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She frowned slightly when she got a picture of the bleeding faces of Theo and Doris. Or rather, at the _smile_ she was able to make out on their faces.

"He doesn't leave us a choice..." she heard one of the brothers whisper. The two men straightened up and positioned themselves for what they had prepared, facing each other, arms outstretched in front of them to form a big square. Before Natsu had time to react, the air inside the square started glowing, emitting a pale blue light.

It all happened very fast.

Natsu leaped in the air once again to try and hit his opponents before they were able to struck him.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" he boomed, his body temperature hitting new heights as fire formed in his mouth.

"Ultimate Water Prison!" the brothers shouted, murderous intents etched in their voices.

Lucy felt her feet move on their own accord, and her voice work its way out.

"Natsu! No!"

She hadn't made a step that the body of the dragon slayer was engulfed in cold blue light, inches away from where Theo and Doris stood. His Fire Dragon Roar was a mere red and yellow blur amid the blinding brightness.

Lucy began to see black spots because of the intensity of the attack, but she couldn't get the strength to close her eyes, or even squint her eyelids to protect them. Only one thing was on her mind.

_Natsu! _

When the light disappeared, the brothers came into view, their bloodstained faces covered with sweat, but their gazes firm and cruel.

They snickered as Lucy stumbled on shattered wall bits, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness once again after this burst of light.

She gasped when she was able to discern shapes again, and absently heard Layla do the same behind her.

She was able to see the brothers just fine, and Layla, and the steaming water puddle that had no doubt formed during the attack of the two minions. But, no Natsu. She looked up, behind Theo and Doris, outside the room and in the corridor, and still she didn't find her best friend.

Her heart tightened painfully in her chest, worry all over her features, and she called the dragon slayer. Once. Twice. Ten times. Hundred times. She was practically screaming by then, and hysteria dawned on her.

_It's_ their _fault_, she seethed inwardly.

The Fairy Tail mage turned to the still snickering brothers, her glare weighing on them.

"What have you done to him?" she screeched, approaching the two standing men. "Where is he? Answer me!"

"My, my," Theo spat out in between sniggers.

"You ought to step back, Princess,"

"Else you're going to step on your beloved friend..."

"Or what's left of him!"

Lucy had frozen at the answer the brothers had given, following their gaze to where they were staring at. She looked at her feet, where the water puddle rested on the damp and stained stone, steam forming in the air above it. She raised her head and watched quizzically at the men, not even sure she wanted to understand what they had meant.

"Do you want an explanation, Princess?"

_No._

"It's our special attack, which combines both our pow..."

"No!"

As Doris' laughter filled the room yet again, horror hit the mage full force. A little voice in her head had whispered this one possible explication, in a low and scared tone, so low that at first it just took the shape of an intuition.

Lucy fell to her knees, her eyes glued to the puddle. For a while nothing moved. Silence was absolute. Even Theo and Doris had stopped laughing.

Until the voice in her head phrased clearly the frightful statement, and the sound of it in her mind was deafening.

_This puddle in front of you _is _him_, it told, and repeated again with yet more force, and she couldn't bare it. Because she knew it was true. Awful. Unbearable. True.

Suddenly she registered that drops of water were falling into the puddle, creating ripples on the surface, and she looked up with hope in her eyes. But her vision was blurry; she had to blink several times in order to be able to see that there was nothing on the ceiling. So she just stared back down.

Natsu. Water.

Dead.

Pain.

More drops were falling.

The Fairy Tail mage heard a voice utter in a broken tone she had never heard: "..make it stop... the pain... make it s-stop... Na-ts-tsu..." But she didn't have the strength to raise her head once more to see where it came from.

Why was it so _cold_ in here?

A light touch on her shoulder caught her attention. Once again, everything she saw was blurry, and after blinking several times she was able to make out Layla's form, murmuring soothing words to her. Tears were streaking her face.

Tears.

A hand rose to her cheek.

Her own hand.

Her cheek was wet, and more liquid seemed to be falling down, coming from her eyes.

Tears.

She was crying.

Her hand moved to her mouth. It was open. She closed it, and the broken voice stopped its rambling.

Had she been the one to say all those things? When had her voice become so...dead?

Dead.

It was too painful to think. Too painful to breathe.

Natsu.

"Natsu! Don't be d-dead... Don't... don't leave me alone!"

Too painful to talk. She closed her mouth again and stared off into space. Even that was hardly bearable. For before her...

"Kyaaa!" a cry was heard. This time Lucy was fairly sure it hadn't come from her own mouth. She still checked, her quivering hand touching her lips. Right. It hadn't been her. Then...

"Let me go!" the same voice cried again.

Layla.

"Layla!" This time she had been the one to talk.

She rose to her feet, only partly aware of what she was doing.

In front of her stood Theo - or Doris, she didn't know anymore - his arms restraining Layla, who was trying her best in order to free herself.

Rage took over the Fairy Tail mage at once.

"You..." she began, her voice a low growl, as she lunged at the despicable men. At the murderers. "_Bastards_!"

She gave the first blow. And the second one. And all the followings. Or maybe she did receive blows as well, she just didn't feel them. Who cared, at this point.

Somewhere during the beating, she heard the clatter of metal against stone, right next to her, and a golden glint caught her eye.

Her keys!

She quickly grabbed the fallen keyring and was about to summon one of her spirits to help finish the work.

Too late.

A hand – a _claw_ – grabbed her wrist, and then the other one, pinning her to the wall. She struggled with all she had, biting and screaming and kicking, but the iron grip didn't quiver, and even seemed to tighten.

"Enough! So you think you can beat my brother to a pulp and not fear the consequences? You _bitch_!" a voice spat right next to her ear. The smell of blood hit her nostrils, awfully close to her.

The celestial mage snorted. Physical pain was not something she feared right now; her heart was aching so bad that anything the dark guild member did to her would seem soft in comparison.

And blows did come. Hard. Painful. Soft compared to the pain in her heart, as expected.

On the brink of unconsciousness, Lucy vaguely registered a movement in the direction of the puddle. Of... _Natsu_. Indeed, more and more steam seemed to be forming at the surface of the water, and started twirling in the air in an enticing dance. It was as if... as if the water was _alive_.

Alive.

Hope coursed through Lucy's hurt and limp body, making her heart ache even more.

The brother had stopped hitting her and was now looking at the steam as well.

"Impossible..." he whispered, understanding shining in his eyes. Another pang of hope sank in Lucy's heart.

It was stuffing hot in the room by now, and the remaining water started trembling, softly at first, but soon waves were rippling its surfaces. At last the water left the floor and twirled in the air along with the steam. A humming sound filled the room, as the water and steam seemed to literally merge together.

The mix of water and steam started emitted a warm glow, and soon the glow was as blinding as the brothers' attack had been. Except it was bright _red_.

Several seconds later, the light faded and in its stead, surrounded in flames, was the pink haired dragon slayer. Who was dead. Or was he?

Anyway, at the sight, Lucy's heart just stopped beating, racing impossibly fast the next instant. A cry of joy and of relief escaped her lips.

"Natsu!" It felt so different from the times she had called his name, when she still thought something bad had happened to him. When she still thought he had died.

The Salamander approached the man pinning Lucy to the wall, his eyes reflecting the fire around his body.

"You've made Lucy cry," he growled at him, his demeanor feral.

The celestial mage repressed a shiver after hearing the words of the dragon slayer. The glint in his eyes was just so wild it was almost frightening.

In an instant Lucy was freed from the iron grip of Theo or Doris, and Natsu was hitting him again and again, growls slipping through his lips at some points. After the blonde mage had caught her breath, she gazed at Natsu.

_He's not going to stop_, she realized, _he's going to kill him!_

The dark guild mage was already unconscious, and still Natsu was landing punches and kicks at his body, seemingly enraged.

"Natsu, come on, stop it, you won," Lucy started tentatively, taking a step toward her friend. Though, as she got closer, one muscled arm crashed on her own and she was forcefully pushed to the wall. Natsu hadn't even glanced at her, even hitting her involuntarily.

_Something's wrong_, she thought frantically, looking up at her bruised arm. Panic made its way to her stomach.

"Natsu! Come to your senses! You're going to kill him!" the celestial mage cried as fresh tears started flowing down her cheeks.

Finally, the Salamander stopped hitting the limp body on the floor, and slowly turned around to face his partner.

His gaze bore into hers.

Well, _now_ she was afraid.


End file.
